I wish more restaurants were willing to serve half portions

[MissMillie]

I love to eat out--all different kinds of food.

But it can get expensive for a girl on a budget. Especially when I usually only eat half of what I get served.

And doggie bags are fine w/ some foods, but certainly not for all. Some things just don't reheat well.




/end rant

[Silent3]

1. I've often noticed that when they do serve half portions, they aren't half the price.

More like 2/3 the price, at best.

[MineralMan]

6. The cost of the food served in a restaurant

isn't the only cost. That's why you don't pay half-price for a half serving.

[Silent3]

8. Yes, I realize that.

But it's still frustrating for my wife when she tries to get smaller portions.

[MineralMan]

10. A lot of restaurants offer smaller servings in other ways.

Some have "light" options. It's also possible to make a great meal from appetizers or starter courses, if portions are too large. You don't really save much money doing that, but you get what you want without the excess.

These days, most menus are long enough that there are ways to order just the amount of food you'd like to eat. It won't necessarily save money, but it's certainly an option for those with modest appetites. I do it all the time.

[hlthe2b]

2. Yes... but I'd bet this would just be an excuse to charge more (or the same) for smaller portions.

Expensive French restaurants appear to be the only ones serving "normal" sized portions--which to Americans seems incredibly "skimpy"...

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Most restaurants serve ridiculously oversized portions.

Chain restaurants (including fast food) can "super size" your meal and greatly increase their profit margins -- the cost of the actual food is a minor expense. So now everyone feels they're getting a bad deal if they don't get huge portions.

Personally, I'd prefer small portions of very well-made food.

[cbayer]

4. Do you usually eat alone?

Maybe find someone who feels similarly and split plates with them.

I often order an appetizer as my main dish. I can rarely eat a whole entree.

[frazzled]

11. Mr. Frazzled and I often share dishes at a restaurant

We like to sit at the bar sometimes, and order a single appetizer and one entree, then share. (You feel less conspicuous doing it that way; plus, I like to sit at the bar and see the goings on.)

I guess we're all showing our age in this thread, because when we were younger we never felt we couldn't eat a full entree!

[cbayer]

14. We do the same and only rarely does anyone seem to mind.

At the most, they charge a few extra dollars for the plate.

And that way we get to have dessert if we are still hungry!

I do agree that it is age related.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

17. some restaurants have the nerve to charge a 'plate' charge

when you split an entree... it is a hideous practice. now, i realize that sometimes there are 'sides' that have to be considered and in some places (like Japanese hibachi restaurants) there is more to a meal than just the 'meat' portion and in that case (while usually hideously overpriced) it makes a little sense otherwise it is just pure crap. the wife and i try to split just about every meal we eat out... and if the restaurant charges the 'plate charge' or 'split fee' we simply don't go back (sometimes we just walk out without ordering but that depends on the evening we have planned.

sP

[cbayer]

18. It's generally low and I don't usually object.

When you split plates the server and the restaurant may take a hit. Having been in the business in the past, I am sensitive to that.

The restaurant bases their prices on the assumption that everyone will eat. You take up a chair, eat the bread, use the silverware and linens, require bussing and clean up.

Same with corkage fees if you bring your own wine.

If these are restaurants I like and the fee is reasonable, I often find it worth the small cost.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

19. for the most part I agree with you...

but in some places it makes NO sense but if warranted I wouldn't exclude the restaurant 100% of the time... so I was a little harsh in that statement. oh, and on the waitstaff side of the equation... we always tip as if both of us had eaten at regular price. you should never screw the waitstaff in an attempt to be frugal.

sP

[cbayer]

20. The tipping part is really important and I am glad that you recognize that.

A lot of people don't. When I was waiting tables I hated to see anyone come in with a 2 for 1 or similar coupon. They almost never adjusted the tip.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

26. i too have waited tables and bartended

so making sure the server and the bus-staff are taken care of is very important to me... especially knowing what they are paid.

sP

[Scuba]

5. Food Portion Sizes Have Grown -- A Lot

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/portion-size/MY02121

The new (ab)normal — Are bigger portions the norm?

The average restaurant meal today is more than four times larger than in the 1950s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which created a graphic to drive home the changes. Check it out at http://makinghealtheasier.org/newabnormal.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=129685

Food Portion Sizes Have Grown -- A Lot

"Between 1977 and 1996, food portion sizes increased both inside and outside the home for all categories except pizza," wrote the study's authors, Samara Joy Nielsen and Barry M. Popkin. "The sizes of the increase are substantial."

The data revealed that over the past 20 years:

Hamburgers have expanded by 23 percent; A plate of Mexican food is 27 percent bigger; Soft drinks have increased in size by 52 percent; Snacks, whether they be potato chips, pretzels or crackers, are 60 percent larger.

Not surprising, the prevalence of adult obesity in the United States has increased from 14.5 in 1971 to 30.9 percent in 1999.

[MineralMan]

7. I actually order an appetizer and a salad a lot of times

in restaurants. It's not really any cheaper than ordering a meal, but I can actually eat everything that is brought to the table. I don't like oversized portions. They actually put me off my food and decrease my appetite.

[pipi_k]

9. I wish so as well, but

I'm just wondering what it is you're ordering that doesn't reheat well.

My favorite leftovers are Chinese food. Pasta dishes seem to reheat pretty well if they're kept moist enough.

I've gotten seafood dishes that are decent the next day, even down to the pile of mashed potatoes with gravy.

I don't do beef, so I don't have a clue as to how a steak would be reheated, but even with something like that, you could cut the steak and use it in a homemade stroganoff dish or stir fry with rice.

If we go to a fast food place, I always get the smallest order of fish or chicken sandwich meal they have, don't fill my cup to the top with soda, and only eat half my fries.

Anyway, my point is that there are probably lots of things that may not be great reheated on their own the next day but which might be great if made up into something else.


PS...though I do agree...American portions are too damned big

[Silent3]

13. It's not a matter of "reheating", but salad leftovers often don't carry away well...

...with components that are supposed to be crisp wilting, and components that are supposed be crunchy getting soggy.

The leftover half of sandwich on baguette is never as good as when freshly served, as the bread gets soggy and the crust loses its texture.

As for things you'd want to reheat, anything with vegetables that started out crisp that you want to have stay crisp, or at least not turn into mush can be a problem.

Not that I eat much fried food any more myself, but I've tried to carry away the leftovers of ridiculously large servings of french fries, and those certainly don't reheat well.

[Chan790]

21. As a catering chef, I can help with some of those.

My life is reheating or maintaining things I already cooked, as well as they came out the first time.

The french fries are the easiest one. The reheat fine as long as you don't microwave them. 5-7 minutes in a 300'F oven or a go in the toaster oven or even in an uncovered frying pan with a tsp. of oil. over low-medium heat stirring constantly. The reason you don't want to cover them is the same reason you don't want to nuke them...potatoes are high in moisture and it converts to steam which, if trapped on the outside of the fry, has the same effect as when you fry something in insufficiently hot oil. It becomes greasy and soggy. You're looking to sear the outside trapping that moisture inside or dissipating it completely as steam.

Not that you asked, but pizza is the opposite. Sort of. Still avoid the microwave. The best option is a hot skillet over low-medium heat covered. This most accurately mimics the conditions of the pizza oven, A high-heat surface below to brown the crust and hot trapped air above to melt the cheese and cook the toppings through convection. This is most similar to a pizza-oven unless you actually have a pizza-stone or tiled oven.

Salad wilts as a result of the dressing. An undressed salad can sit in the cooler all day without wilting but a dressed salad wilts within 15 minutes no matter what you do to it. I know I frequently take salads home so I always keep the dressing in the cup...stab a forkful, dip in the dressing, eat. Or ask for a bread plate...serve the salad to the bread plate and dress it there, going back for more salad or dressing as you see fit. Once home, store the salad in the fridge on the coldest shelf. It should keep for days.

Vegetables: I assume you mean vegetables like carrots and haricots and peas. The best way to reheat is a hot fast flash of steam. 30 sec. to 1 minute in steamer basket over a heavy boil will do the trick, re-seasoning afterwards. The carrots can be microwaved...people just usually over-microwave them. I give them 20 seconds...then another 10 or 20 if they need it. The same holds for other root vegetables. Corn on the cob steams as well but it takes longer than haricots...2 or 3 minutes.

The sandwich is the tricky one...you can save it somewhat if you ask them to box up the insides separately from the bread and wrap the bread in foil (and don't fridge it when you get home)...but that only gets you so far if the sandwich has mustard or mayo or another sauce on the bread. (Also, you need to toss the lettuce regardless. It's going to wilt.) Sometimes the best solution is to toss the bread and put it on new bread. I often snag a dinner roll for this purpose. As for the sauce, you can ask for some additional in a dressing cup when they're wrapping your food...usually I'm throwing away extra prepared sauces at the end of the night anyways so I don't care and if it makes the customer happy, they come back to me and I get paid.

(I agree on the smaller portions. I can feed me 3 times from an average dinner...and I'm NFL linebacker sized so I'm not small or thin.)

[xulamaude]

24. Excellent pointers! Thanks! nt

[Xyzse]

25. Wow...

Thanks, did not know these.

[pipi_k]

31. I never

bring a salad home, knowing that it will not be as good the next day...although the catering person's reply below is a good suggestion.

So I eat the salad, and then work on whatever else might not heat up well the next day, although most of it usually does.

Bread and rolls and pizza aren't very good microwaved, although I do prefer a soft, soggy crust on pizza so I'll nuke mine, and loosely wrap the other bread/rolls/pizza in aluminum foil and toss in the toaster oven for Mr Pipi. I've also warmed them in a cast iron skillet on the low setting on top of the stove.

The only thing really no good reheated in the microwave is fried clams and scallops. They come out tough and rubbery. Maybe I just don't do them right...

[grilled onions]

12. What About Kiddie Meals?

Many adults eat that size portion or would like to but you will see menus that state 10 and under, or something similar. I mean you don't expect a toy and a sheet to color on but I know many seniors who struggle with the portions yet do not split meals because they each want something else.
It's true that many foods are not doggie bag friendly. Many salads go limp especially if they pack it in with a hot entree.
Why can't they offer light size meals on their menus? It's bad enough that many of your budget type sit down eateries can carb you right out of your daily allowance. They seem to think that corn is a staple that should be in your salad as well as your entree along with rolls,instant spuds(or starchy fries),a breaded chunk of meat or fried fish. A "salad" to many of these restaurants is two pieces of head lettuce with a shred of carrot. No wonder many have to eat at home or take their chances,eat out and fret over their blood sugar all day. It's not just the quantity--it's the quality as well.
Those that can afford an expensive meal out have a better chance to find menus that are more carb friendly and I think they can have smaller portions too. I have never been able to afford such a dining experience so I don't know this to be a fact.

[MissMillie]

15. Lots of restaurants only serve kid portions to people younger than 12

And the menu choices are never as good.

[SoCalDem]

16. I have often though they should do this.. because so much food gets wasted

Not everyone takes a "doggy bag"..

Portions here are ridiculously huge..

My friend and I often order a salad and an entree and we share.. No splitting required.. we do it ourselves

My husband and I can never agree on what to order, so we bring home enough for another dinner the next day.


A good thing about senior menus..they are usually smaller portions to start with..although the prices are often not all that much less, since you have to pay extra for a salad... and the meal often ends up costing more than the regular entree that comes with a salad..

[brewens]

22. My girlfriend and I ran a cafe and had a kids menu with smaller portions.

We didn't allow adults to order those meals because we couldn't afford to. Of course nothing prevented people from ordering anything they wanted and splitting things up.

It was a simple matter of realizing you had to make a certain amount off of everyone coming in the door on the average. Encouraging just anyone to come in to get cheaper smaller meals would have had us filled up sometimes with lighter eating lower spending customers and we had limited seating. Making it a little cheaper for families to come in and feed their kids was as far as we could go.

[AngryAmish]

23. Amen to this

I live in the midwest and the portions are gigantic. My wife and I often split - if we can agree on the dish.

[Vox Moi]

27. Serve half portions … and give the other half to the poor.

No, I don't mean that restaurants should get into public relief but it is amazing how much food is thrown out around here.
Makes the debate over food stamps seem strange. If there was a way to re-distribute the edible food that is discarded we might not need the stamps.

[On the Road]

28. A lot of Restaurants Offer Small Plates Nowdays

especially nice plates with an extensive happy hour. The beauty of this is that if you know the menu beforehand, you can go to a really nice place and get some really good food for $5 or less if you don't need a big portion. Tapa restaurants let you scale down the same way. You can even order a glass of wine and stay under $15 total.

Small Plates Near Boston

[CTyankee]

29. When I traveled in Spain, I ate my dinner at Tapas bars. The Spanish eat VERY late in the evening...

I don't know how they do it...dinner with wine at 11 pm, and then get up and go to work the next day...

the tapas bars serve earlier in the evening and I love having small portions of several different things...

[pansypoo53219]

30. i ate about 1/3 of a steak recently. knew it wasn't gonna reheat weel enough,

so i got 4 meals of hash. but 1/2 siz portions smart. or make 1/2 the size of food + cut the cost by 1/2.don't get me started on the non recyclable 'bag.
meh. i am gonna stay home + cook. better food.